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CMS has published a final rule that updates prospective payment rates for Medicare inpatient hospital services provided by inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) for FY 2015. Under the final rule, the federal per diem base rate will be increased by 2.1%, reflecting a market basket increase of 2.9%, offset by a 0.3 percentage point reduction and a productivity adjustment reduction of 0.5 percentage points (both reductions were mandated by the ACA). CMS also anticipates that the final update to the outlier fixed-dollar loss threshold amount will provide an additional 0.4% boost in overall payments to IPFs. In light of all payment policies, CMS estimates that total payments to IPFs under the final rule will increase by $120 million (2.5%) compared to FY 2014 payments. The final rule also, among other things, establishes a new methodology for updating the cost of living adjustment (consistent with the inpatient hospital methodology), expands quality measures under the IPF Quality Reporting Program, adopts coding changes related to comorbidity categories and unspecified codes, and discusses CMS’s future plans to propose an IPF-specific market basket. The final rule was published August 6, 2014.

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